Oil spills from oceangoing tankers are rare but bring huge damages to coastlines when they occur within 200 miles of shore. Unfortunately, most tanker spills do occur on or near coasts. Rank the following alternatives according to how efficient they are in responding to the threat of oil spills. Explain your ranking.
a. Each nation with an endangered coastline should impose a tax on all imported oil, a tax that raises enough revenue to compensate for any oil-spill damages.
b. Each coastal nation should impose a tax on all domestically purchased oil, a tax that raises enough revenue to compensate for any oil-spill damages.
c. Oil-carrying companies should be legally liable for all damages, in the courts of the countries whose national waters are polluted by the spills.
d. Each coastal nation should intercept all oil tankers in national waters and charge them a fee that will cover the estimated costs of future oil spills.
e. We might as well save ourselves the expense of trying to prevent spills. They are just accidents beyond the control of the shipping companies; they are part of the cost of having coasts.